Last week saw all kinds of craziness. Ohio State and Penn State played possibly the best game of the year in the White Out (and James Franklin made one of the worst calls of the year), Clemson gutted out a win with their third string QB against a good Syracuse team, Notre Dame crushed Stanford and threw themselves squarely into the middle of the College Football Playoff conversation, and Florida found a way to win on the road against Mississippi State.
Week 6 doesn’t appear to be as good on paper (with only two ranked vs. ranked matchups), but college football is the best for a reason: anything can happen on any given Saturday. Here are the best college football games to watch in Week 6. All games are listed in chronological order and all times listed are Central Time. All rankings reflect the most recent AP Poll. And remember, if your team doesn’t make this list, it’s only because I hate them.
College football to watch week 6
Thursday, October 4
Tulsa @ Houston
TDECU Stadium – Houston, TX
Kickoff: 7:00pm
TV: ESPN
Why you should watch: It’s the better of the two college games on, which isn’t saying a whole lot. Tulsa is really bad but Houston is a solid football team and they have a nice, relatively new stadium. The Cougars are 3-1 on the season with wins over Rice, Arizona, and Texas Southern plus a loss on the road at Texas Tech. On the flip side, the Golden Hurricane have lost three straight with their only win coming against FCS level Central Arkansas.
Friday, October 5
Georgia Tech @ Louisville
Cardinal Stadium – Louisville, KY
Kickoff: 6:00pm
TV: ESPN
Why you should watch: It’s the best of the three college football games on, which isn’t saying much. Both teams are 2-3 on the season. The Yellow Jackets have wins against Alcorn State and Bowling Green, combined with losses against USF, Pitt, and Clemson. The Cardinals meanwhile are having an abject disaster of a season. They lost to Alabama to start the year then struggled mightily in wins against Indiana State and then Western Kentucky. It all bottomed out last week as they lost to a dreadful Florida State team, thanks to some egregious play calling by Bobby Petrino and appalling execution by Jawon Pass.
Saturday, October 6
#19 Texas vs. #7 Oklahoma
Cotton Bowl – Dallas, TX
Kickoff: 11:00am
TV: FOX
Why you should watch: It’s the Red River Shootout (sorry PC folks, that’s the real name and that’s what I will call it until the day I die). I like to rag on neutral site games a lot, but this is one of the games that should always be played at its current neutral venue: the Cotton Bowl at the Texas State Fair. The fan support is split exactly 50/50. This is the first time that this matchup features two ranked teams since 2012. Oklahoma has won three of the last four and this could go a long way in determining if Texas really is back. This game is also a huge opportunity for Sooners QB Kyler Murray to really put himself into the Heisman Trophy conversation.
#5 LSU @ #22 Florida
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium – Gainesville, FL
Kickoff: 2:30pm
TV: CBS
Why you should watch: It’s a battle of two ranked teams in a classic rivalry game. The last four meetings between these two have all been one score games. This year’s game could also have massive College Football Playoff implications with the Tigers boasting an undefeated record and the Gators coming in with just one loss. LSU has wins over a pair of Top 10 teams (Miami and Auburn) while the Gators just won back to back conference road games (against Tennessee and Mississippi State.) Interesting to note that this is the first of two straight meetings between the two in Gainesville, after the last two were in Baton Rouge (as a result of Hurricane Matthew in 2016).
San Diego State @ Boise State
Albertsons’s Stadium – Boise, ID
Kickoff: 2:30pm
TV: ESPNU
Why you should watch: These two teams have been among the best in the Group of 5 since the inception of the College Football Playoff and this game figures to go a long way in deciding who wins the Mountain West (and don’t forget that a rematch between these two in the Mountain West title game is very possible). Boise State has a record of 3-1 with wins against Troy, UConn and Wyoming plus a loss against Oklahoma State. San Diego State is also 3-1 with wins over Sacramento State, Arizona State, and Eastern Michigan plus a loss to Stanford.
Navy @ Air Force
Falcon Stadium – Colorado Springs, CO
Kickoff: 2:30pm
TV: CBSSN
Why you should watch: it’s part of the battle for the Commander in Chief’s Trophy. And any time two of the service academies play each other, it will be on this list. Air Force is having something of a down year (1-3 with their lone win against FCS level Stony Brook) while Navy hasn’t fared much better at 2-2 (both wins at home and both losses on the road). Anything can happen when the academies play each other.
#13 Kentucky @ Texas A&M
Kyle Field – College Station, TX
Kickoff: 6:00pm
TV: ESPN
Why you should watch: Kentucky is undefeated right now and if you said you thought that before the season started, you’re a liar. The Wildcats are 5-0 for the first time since 2007 (when they finished 8-5) but this team feels different. They beat Florida for the first time in 31 years and they have a stud running back in Benny Snell, who will more than likely be first round NFL Draft pick nest year. Many experts are already picking the Wildcats to be the only team that can challenge Georgia in the SEC East.
On the other side, Texas A&M is only 3-2 but now that he’s in the SEC everybody is hailing Jimbo Fisher as an all-time great (despite winning 78% of his games, 3 ACC titles, and a national title at Florida State before his arrival in College Station). They haven’t done anything special this year as they’ve beat the teams they’re supposed to beat (FCS Northwestern State, Sun Belt UL-Monroe, and hapless Arkansas) and lost to the teams they’re supposed to lose to (close loss to Clemson and close-ish loss to Alabama).
#6 Notre Dame @ #24 Virginia Tech
Lane Stadium – Blacksburg, VA
Kickoff: 7:00pm
TV: ABC
Why you should watch: Undefeated Notre Dame is always must watch TV, but when you add in a road trip to Lane Stadium, it becomes next level. The Irish started the season out with an impressive win over a good Michigan team, but then struggled mightily against Ball State and then Vanderbilt. Brian Kelly made a QB change and Ian Book has been a revelation as he has guided the Irish to resounding wins over Wake Forest and Stanford.
Virginia Tech has had a bizarre season with a game against East Carolina cancelled due to a hurricane and then a loss on the road against a previously winless Old Dominion team. They followed that up with a resounding road win over a ranked Duke team. But none of that matters now. Night games in Blacksburg are always fantastic and Enter Sandman will be blaring before kickoff. Brian Kelly is just 18-16 in true road games as ND coach and the memories the meltdown in Miami last year are still fresh on the brain.
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